This stuffed French toast is fancy enough for a very special breakfast or brunch. And if you are ever feeling like an indulgent breakfast, go with this one, because you're worth it!The apple butterscotch filling and sauce add a little something extra to what otherwise is a standard French toast. Do make this using the potato bread I made using Idaho®Potatoes. It really is perfect for this French toast since it has so much flavor on its own.
Use the apple butterscotch syrup or the syrup of your choice
lightly sweetened whipped cream or sour creamoptional
toasted chopped nutsoptional
Instructions
For the Shredded Apple Butterscotch Filling
In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
Once melted, add the brown sugar and salt.
Turn up heat to medium high and cook, stirring constantly, until the butterscotch comes together smoothly, darkens in color, and starts to smell like caramel. You may see a few wisps of smoke.
Remove from the heat and immediately add the shredded apple. The apples will start to give off liquid almost immediately, and the butterscotch may harden up in the pan.
Return the pan to medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until all the butterscotch has melted. The liquid will be very thin because of all the juices from the apple.
Continue to boil until the juices reduce down to a thick, syrupy texture.
Cut the cream cheese into bits and stir into the apple mixture. Cool and then chill.
For the French Toast Batter
Whisk together all the ingredients until evenly combined. If you’d like, you can strain it to get out any egg bits, but it is not strictly necessary.
Pour into a shallow, flat-bottomed dish like an 8x8” pan or similar. Refrigerate until ready to make your French toast.
For the Apple Butterscotch Sauce
In a pan that’s much larger than you think you need, melt the butter.
When the butter is mostly melted, add the brown sugar and salt.
Cook together over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until the butterscotch comes together into a smooth and bubbling sauce. It will darken in color and start to smell like caramel. You may see a few wisps of smoke.
Remove the butterscotch from the heat and pour in the apple juice or apple cider. It will sputter and boil and the butterscotch will harden into candy.
Place over medium heat, and cook, stirring, until the butterscotch has all melted.
Bring to a boil and boil until reduced to a thick syrup, stirring frequently. NOTE: The mixture will darken and thicken and sometimes it will rise up in the pan. If it does and threatens to boil over, just remove the pan from the heat and let it calm down.
Continue cooking the sauce down until you have about ½ cup of sauce.
Pour into a heat-safe measuring cup and allow to cool to warm. At this point you can refrigerate the sauce until you’re ready to use it. Reheat briefly to pouring consistency.
To Form, Stuff, and Bake the French Toast
Preheat your oven to 325F.
Line a half sheet pan or cookie sheet with parchment. Set aside convenient to the oven.
With your serrated knife, slice off each heel of the bread.
Cut the remaining loaf into 5 even pieces of about 1 ½” each.
Fold a 6” square piece of parchment in half and hold it on top of one of the slices of bread. Mark where the top and bottom are, and then draw a half heart (remember when you did this as kids?!) sized to just fit inside the crust of the bread.
Cut out the heart and use this as a template to cut each thick slice of bread into a heart shape.
Simply place the heart template so it’s centered on the slice and the cut straight down all around, using the template as your guide.
When done, trim up any ragged looking edges.
Again using your serrated knife, cut a pocket halfway down the side of each thick slice, and cutting to within about an inch of the other side. Don’t make the cut at the top of the heart where the “bow” is, but along one side to keep the heart shape as evident as possible.
Gently fill each pocket with a heaping tablespoon of apple filling, tucking it inside away from the edge as much as you can without tearing the heart.
Soak each heart in the French toast batter for about 30-45 seconds per side, pressing down gently with a spatula to encourage the custard to soak into the heart.
Pick up each heart with a slotted spatula and let drain over the batter for a few seconds.
Place each filled and soaked heart, prettiest side down, onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake until the internal temperature of each heart is 165F, about 30 minutes or so. The hearts will have puffed up some and will look dry on the top. NOTE: Some of the custard may have run out and made little “feet” at the edges of your hearts. That’s okay. Remove the French toast from the oven, and use a sharp knife or the edge of a metal spatula to cut away the little “feet.”
Turn them over to the pretty side again. They should be a beautiful golden brown.
Place each heart on a plate, and serve with the apple butterscotch sauce and (optional) chopped, toasted pecans.
Notes
Cook time does not include the time it takes to make the filling or the sauce, only how long it takes to bake the toast hearts. Each component will take about 10-15 minute cook time.
Splitting This Recipe Up Into Sessions
Admittedly, there is a lot going on in this recipe. Here are some ways to keep from being overwhelmed:
Buy a whole loaf of bread at your local bakery rather than making your own bread. Make sure you let it sit out for a day or two. (If it's not potato bread, it will stale more quickly.)
Make the filling a day or two ahead of time
You can make and stuff the hearts a day before making the French toast
You can make the batter a day or two ahead and keep it in the fridge
You can opt to NOT stuff the bread, saving yourself from having to make a filling12121q11
If you want an easier filling, use some apple pie filling. Make sure to chop it up so big chunks of apples don't tear your bread
Use maple syrup or any other syrup you like rather than making the apple butterscotch sauce
What To Do with the Trimmings from the Bread
The bits of bread leftover are great for making bread pudding--you can even use the leftover custard to soak it in.If you'd rather not make bread pudding, cut the bread up in small cubes and freeze until Thanksgiving or the next time you want to make stuffing. You can turn these bits into your own stuffing cubes.
A Note on the Nutritionals
The nutrition information does not take into account the amount of custard that is leftover after making the toast, nor does it take into account the nuts or the whipped cream/sour cream if you decide to use either of those garnishes.